"I guess I'd better find somewhere to go, then" Miranda said.

"What, now?" Rona asked. It was still early in the morning for her and she hadn't quite got up to speed yet.

"No!" Miranda said. "Later. Like, in general."

"Why?"

"You want to get out of here?" Eric asked.

"No" Miranda said again. She was beginning to wonder how much it was worth her while explaining what she'd meant, given that it'd only been a joke. "I just mean, everyone apart from me's going somewhere so I should go somewhere. Rona's going to Sydney, and Eric, you're going to Italy maybe -"

"I'm not going to Italy" Eric said.

"You're not?"

Eric shook his head. "Pipe dream. Total pipe dream."

Rona thought: I could've told him that, but then she decided that he'd probably known all along.

"That's a shame" Miranda said.

Eric shrugged. He could be so diffident sometimes; sometimes things really seemed to get to him and then at other times things, the strangest things, didn't seem to matter to him at all. It made Miranda worry about him.

"One day" Miranda said comfortingly.

"Yeah, maybe" Eric said.

"Italy's probably over-rated, anyway" Rona offered.

"You reckon?" Miranda looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Isn't everywhere?" Rona asked.

"Jesus, Rona!" Miranda gaped at her. "I didn't realise you were so cynical."

"I need a coffee" Rona said.